Construction begins on YASA’s new Bicester Motion HQ

A ground-breaking ceremony was held last week to celebrate the start of works on the new Bicester Motion HQ for electric motor manufacturer YASA.

The ceremony was attended by representatives from Bicester Motion and YASA along with Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell District Council, the Mayor of Bicester Town Council, Advanced Oxford, Oxford to Cambridge Pan-Regional Partnership and members of the consultancy team.

YASA’s new base is a bespoke development that will total 90,000 sq ft.

The remaining four buildings of its new Innovation Quarter will form part of phase 2, which together have a construction value of £60 million.

Bicester Motion has also unveiled the new name for its Innovation Quarter, which is to be known as ‘The Ranges’, as the new buildings will be on the former location of RAF Bicester’s rifle ranges.

YASA is a spinout from the University of Oxford and wholly owned by the Mercedes-Benz Group.

The company employs more than 400 people across several sites in Oxfordshire, including teams in innovation, engineering, prototyping, operations and business support functions.

Practical completion of the new HQ is expected for Summer 2025, with teams hoping to move in for January 2026 following fitout works.

The construction project is targeted to include eight apprenticeships, work experience opportunities, volunteering, career events, school engagement and site tours.

Daniel Geoghegan, chief executive of Bicester Motion, said: “This is another significant milestone for Bicester Motion, not only in officially welcoming pioneering YASA and their staff ahead of joining our unique and thriving community, but also our continued investment into enabling vital future mobility innovation.

“I’d like to thank our team and consultants for all their hard work in reaching this point.

“We look forward to boosting construction jobs and the wider local supply chain in delivering this important project.”

Dr Tim Woolmer, founder and chief technology officer at YASA, added: “Today marks an important day for YASA as we start the construction of our new UK headquarters at Bicester Motion.

“We’ve been on an amazing journey, and from when we spun out of an Oxford University PhD in 2009, our vision has always been to accelerate electrification.

“It’s been a privilege to be on that journey as we have expanded.

“We’ve never had a facility like this before, and it’s an enormous privilege to find a long-term home at Bicester Motion.

“YASA’s home has always been in Oxfordshire, the heartland of automotive technology in the UK, and our new facility will complement our existing manufacturing facility just down the road in Yarnton.

“We look forward to seeing our building progress.”

Adalta Real represented Bicester Motion. Adalta Real and Bidwells are the commercial leasing agents.

Acting on behalf of Bicester Motion are 3DReid, Edgars, IKS Consulting, Stantec, Macgregor Smith, Nicholsons and Motion Consultants.